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It is cool. My former girlfriend lived in India for many years. She rode on the back of an Enfield across the Rohtang Pass as part of a tour her then boyfriend was running. Falling over in the mud, dodging traffic, and negotiating their way through landslides were all part of it. It made for a great novel, but one that to date was never published.

There are folks in that part of the world who will rent you a bike, and provide whatever level of guide service you want. Friends of some friends were doing it as of a few years ago. One day I'm gonna go, before they get old and retire. Probably should just do it.

Those Enfields are not the most rugged bikes in the world, but they are pretty simple machines. In a country where the folks that do the repairs are as likely to hand make replacement parts, that's important. I read a link once, likely I got it off ADVRider, and they talked about how the mechanics will make their own casting molds, do a pour, then hand work the part to fit. Fascinating.

Savage wrote:I'm just going to throw this in here because its so cool.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwV-Im0kGqg[/youtube]

Since it's been too cold and snowy to ride the trails I've been out trimming them this winter. Troy's push got me motivated to just do it. It's gotten me out of the house to help fight the winter blues when its too cold to do much else. One day my son and I went out and put in 4-5 hours. One day my daughter and dog came out and hiked around with me while I cut for 2 hours. Most of the time it was just me and some peaceful therapy though. Its been great!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K620lDUcugA[/youtube]


This past weekend they finally opened the trails. I knew it was going to be sloppy in places and frozen in others but I didn't care. I just wanted to ride, wanted to test out my work, and didn't care if that meant giving the RMZ an hour wash when I got home. Never did go down, but it was real close quite a few times.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4piG_Ap2zFY[/youtube]

We got 10 - 12" of snow with this current storm. I was going to change the rear tire on the 690 from a worn MT-43 to a new MT-21, but I think the tires are frozen right now (17 degrees F).

Really looking forward to WUDI & TAR rides!!!

Cheers,

14" in Lawrence. It will be a while before this melts. And more snow to come.... Going stir crazy. Perhaps I should get one of those new Honda / Montessa Repsol trials bikes and go ride in the snow. It looks like a work of art:

http://www.honda-montesa.es/montesa/mod ... magenes=si

Stu

Don't feel sorry for me guys but I'm missing all the Beautiful snow while sitting on the beach here in Puerto Morelos all week.

Hey would one of you guys be willing to go clear the mountain of snow from behind my truck at the airport parking lot? B4 ROW 5 tan Ford f150 with KTM front plate. We land about 7 on Saturday. Thanks. In return you'll get free RideForum.NET membership.

Gotta go...this sun ain't gonna soak itself up. Another pina colada? Gracias!

troy wrote:.......
Hey would one of you guys be willing to go clear the mountain of snow from behind my truck at the airport parking lot? B4 ROW 5 tan Ford f150 with KTM front plate. We land about 7 on Saturday. Thanks. In return you'll get free RideForum.NET membership.
........

I already did that for you.















While I flattened all four tires.

Eddie, I was going to let you share a motel room with me on our next adventure but not after this.

Gotta go. . Beach volleyball starting. I better finish this daquerie.

Troy , while you are acclimating to 80's and sun we are acclimating to sub zero ,not liking it but adapting , ......wait for it ......temp shock is coming......sat. you say?

It seems like in some other lifetime I was a motorcyclist. When out doing chores in the elements ,deep in the winter, one wonders if it will be ridding weather ,ever again. Thankfully I only had around 6" of snow.
A couple sunday afternoons ago I took a spin on the trails.....that was good.......a lot of limbs on the trails. It will take some real trail maintenance to put things back in order.

bird man wrote: It will take some real trail maintenance to put things back in order.

Trail Maintenance day at bird man's place! I'll bring a grill, and some ribs! Sounds like a 2 day event to me.

As I pulled out of the drive early this morning starting on an Okla. delivery , I smelled skunk. Hadn't smelled one for quite a while so it got my attention (briefly). I soon started noticing "dead skunk in the road" ....for the whole 400 mile trip I saw several road killed skunk. I have made this same trip several times this winter and not seen one skunk until today. It is a phenomenon I have noticed nearly every year ,in the real early spring the skunk start moving....I am guessing mating season thus caution to the "wind" . "Skunk Rut"
Oh yes I saw a Bald Eagle setting high in a tree several miles west of Moline Ks. today also .
So there is promise of spring and warmer weather.

When it gets warmer we will take Bob up on his cooking skills offer.

I've noticed a few dead skunks around here since you mentioned it.

We're suppose to get some bad weather here this weekend but its sounds like its suppose to be worse east of here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXZsqwH ... uTWwLxn50w

I like this guys passion! Seriously

Where do you find this stuff Savage? LOL...HERE IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS BE PREPARED FOR A MAJOR RAINSTORM. GOT MY BATTERIES CHARGED AND AM READY FOR TOMORROWS HAIR SCRAMBLE NEAR KIRBY IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS. MAJOR RAINS PREDICTED FOR ARKANSAS. BE PREPARED. TAKE OFF YOUR TRIALS TIRES AND PUT ON THE KNOBBY IN THE STATE OF ARKANSAS....BE PREPARED!!!!!!!

OK...... more weather lore.
When it gets "close" (operative word) to spring every year I see robins start showing up in the yard. Some years they show much earlier than others.....And I (falsely used to think, spring is here) .....You can almost always count on seeing those robins at some time before spring hopping around in the snow. I hope the big flock of robins I saw last week only have to hopp around in the snow we are getting tonight...... hope they don't freeze solid Sunday and Monday night.
I heard today that vit D will improve your moods......think I will try some.....rather than wait for sunshine.

Can you buy vitamin D by the ton?

Sunday morning. I've downed 3 cups of coffee while cooking eggs & bacon for my house guests. Now I'm sitting here jealously reading Arkansas ride reports from guys like O'Leary and Bohawk while the snow is coming down heavy.

Might be fun to get my Jeep (for sale) out to play in the snow later today. I'd MUCH rather play on the dirt bike in warmer conditions.

Birdman, I think about how hard you must be working on the farm with these extreme temps just to keep those birds alive and the water flowing. As for your trails -- just pick a date and say the word! I am confident several good folks from here will show up to help and play. I made some great memories riding your trails last year and can't wait for the weather to allow us to ride again. It will be so cool to see about 6 little kids riding their 50's together!

As many of you know, I sold my 2012 350 preferring to keep my 2007 450 EXC. CycleZone has it right now and is going through it to perform a major "refresh" that includes rebuilt forks, shock, top-end, new bearings here and there, fresh brake & clutch fluids, etc. I want to get several more years out of that bike--I love it.

BTW, they are also rebuilding the forks in my 99 KLX 300 which will be immediately for sale. Runs good and easy to ride. $1,000.

There ARE rides going on, though. If you want to make the trip down to AR for some 50 - 60 degree riding and camping, check out their thread. They have a camp & ride this coming weekend.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651353

troy wrote:Now I'm sitting here jealously reading Arkansas ride reports from guys like O'Leary and Bohawk while the snow is coming down heavy.

There ARE rides going on, though. If you want to make the trip down to AR for some 50 - 60 degree riding and camping, check out their thread. They have a camp & ride this coming weekend.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=651353

For what it's worth, I'm sitting in Texas in 70 degree weather dreaming of being able to go riding in Arkansas! We actually moved north a couple of days ago to escape the 90-100 degree heat in Lajitas! The temperatures down here are awesome, but the desert landscape is starting to get a little worn out at this point. I keep finding myself thinking about those Ozark mountains when I'm out mountain biking or motorcycle riding. I can't wait until April when we'll be able to be there enjoying the trails and roads!

This pic was taken this morning. It was a bit chilly at 50 degrees, so I was trying to get some warmth from the blacktop road.

kendall_smith wrote:...I can't wait until April when we'll be able to be there enjoying the trails and roads!

Do you & Allisa have any plans to setup camp in AR this year for longer than a couple weeks?

Some people love the desert. My pop is one of them--he finds endless beauty in the relative barrenness. My biggest desert experience is probably riding out in Moab, and while I loved the riding, that landscape would get old to me. I love TREES and flowing water and riding in the forest!

Troy....Yeah the weather has been challenging. We have been really busy the last few weeks shipping out adults ,dealing with weather and prepping for the upcoming laying season. I expect to be getting eggs by Mar. 15. and have them in the incubator within a week or more after that.
I think there were a lot of pleasant memories made for those who rode the bird trails last fall. I too hope to see several little guys and there parents here riding again this year, that is one of the things that makes it all worth while. When the weather gets better we can begin cleaning the trails up.

Eddie the guy I was listening to said you needed 5000 iu of vit. D per day.( a little less than a ton) I looked at the capsules I have and they have 4000 IU so I have started taking one a day. We'll see ...I am confident it can't hurt ...only an upside the way I see it. He did say it may take a while to notice a difference in the way you feel.

Since I have gotten my 250 xcfw sold I am thinking of upgrading the shock and forks somehow and uncorking the engine on one of my 230's. Anyone have any ideas on how/what to do or done this before.

I would think it would be very easy. I bet if you look in the airbox there are things to restrict air, you could remove or alter them. Then there is probably a butt plug in the exhaust, just remove it. Then just raise the needle 1 clip to richen it to match the added air.